The Century Arms AP53 is both old and new. It’s never really been available to the U.S. consumer market, but the design is nearly 50 years old. The AP53 is a semiautomatic pistol version of the iconic (and unobtainable) Heckler & Koch HK53 short-barreled rifle (SBR). Just as AR-style pistols have benefited, the HK53 was given new life in large part due to the existence of arm braces for pistols. Century Arms’ AP series is available either with an endcap or a brace. A Magpul BTR brace version was sent to Guns & Ammo for testing, mounted to an AR-pattern receiver extension.
The AP53 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO and provided with 30-round magazines. It has an 8.3-inch, chrome-lined, cold-hammer-forged barrel with a 1-in-7-inch twist and a fluted chamber. Inside is the famous roller-delayed blowback operating system.
Century Arms is importing the AP53 from MKE in Turkey. MKE is a NATO defense contractor, which makes all sorts of arms for the Turkish military and national police. The HK-pattern guns are made on HK-licensed tooling. The 9mm MP5-clone pistols enjoy an excellent reputation among American shooters. It’s not completely wrong to think of the AP53 as an MP5 chambered in 5.56 since it shares the same operating system principles, and even certain dimensions.
A Brief History
The first HK 5.56-chambered roller-lock system was in the HK33, introduced in 1968. The first HK33 had a 15.4-inch barrel, 16 inches on the semiauto HK93 that was exported to the U.S. HK also made the HK33K, which featured a 13.1-inch barrel. In the late 1970s, HK introduced the even shorter HK53, reducing barrel length to 8.3 inches and giving it a collapsible stock. The HK53 was purchased by several militaries, most notably the United Kingdom. The Brits fielded many to small units such as the Special Air Service (SAS), designating it the “L101A1” and “L101A2.” The SAS used it on missions involving vehicles, but its short length made it handy in tight urban and indoor environments, as well. As tactical teams started acquiring short-barreled AR-15 variants in the 1980s and ’90s, short-barreled ARs were not considered as reliable. Fitted with a collapsible stock, the HK53 in 5.56 NATO filled that need.
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Major Assemblies
The Century Arms AP53 is 28-inches long with the brace collapsed, and 31-inches long with the brace extended. The non-brace model with the feature-less endcap is 22.3 inches long. The Magpul BTR brace model, empty with no magazine, weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces.
The barrel has a four-prong flash hider installed. Unlike the HK variants, which have metric threading, the barrel of the AP53 is threaded 1/2×28 to make it convenient for American end users to change the muzzle device or mount a suppressor.
The AP53 continues the modular construction, which was advanced when the platform was introduced in 1959. The upper receiver is stamped sheet metal, which is the serialized part. The barrel and trunion are welded to the receiver. The lower trigger assembly features a polymer module with an internal chassis, trigger and selector components — i.e., the “trigger pack” — held in place by two crossbolt pins. Pop out those push pins and both the endcap and the lower receiver can be separated from the upper receiver. Then, the bolt and carrier assemblies can be removed from the rear. The recoil spring and guiderod assembly on these pistols is affixed to the end cap.
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One pin secures the triangular polymer forend in place. The AP53 will accept MP5-style handguards. In fact, that’s what comes installed on Century’s AP53. True HK53 handguards extend to the back of the receiver, almost to the magazine well, to protect the support hand. These guns get hot quicker than the 9mm MP5, but you’ll be out of ammo before the thick handguard gets too hot to hold.
Working the Controls
The charging handle on the AP53 is forward on the left side near the front sight. It’s spring loaded and folds outward; it requires some force to cycle. The bolt can be locked back manually, though, by lifting it up into a notch. However, the action does not lock rearward when a magazine is empty. There is a button magazine release on the right side of the gun few use. Instead, magazine changes most frequently involve the paddle magazine release lever forward of the triggerguard. Magazines insert straight in and are intuitive to change.
The polymer trigger housing features pictograph markings for safe, semiautomatic, three-round burst, and full automatic modes. The last two are just for show; the trigger is semiautomatic only and cannot be retrofitted to select-fire modes.The housing is the slim Navy-style with integral pistol grip. You can reach the selector lever with your thumb, but these guns are notorious for hard-to-reach selector levers by some. The bilateral lever on G&A’s sample was a bit stiff to operate.
The HK-pattern sights on the AP53 are iconic. The fixed front sight is a post protected by a sturdy hooded ring. The rear sight is a rotating four-position drum with V-notch. Three of the positions are apertures. They are all the same diameter, but the height is positioned for use at different ranges marked on the drum: “2” for 200 meters, “3” for 300, and “4” for 400. The aperture is just large enough for the protective ring of the front sight to fit inside it when taking a quick sight picture, a ring within a ring. The fourth position marked “1” is a stepped notch meant for use at speed or at close range. The entire front sight tower fits inside the wide part of the notch. The rear sight is adjustable for windage, too, using a Phillips-head screwdriver. Elevation can be zeroed using a narrow needle-nose pliers or, preferably, an HK rear sight tool, which is not provided.
At two spots on the top of the receiver are bulges where the provided rail attaches for mounting optics. The spacing between the receiver mounts is the same on the AP53 as on MP5-pattern guns, although they were moved back on the AP53.
HK-pattern roller locks are known for a few things, and heavy trigger pulls are one of them. G&A staff had an opportunity to shoot several samples. The lightest trigger tested at 7¾ pounds. The trigger pull on the sample featured in this column was 8¾ pounds. They are shootable, but you really have to work at it.
G&A’s initial sample was one of five prototypes in the U.S. A piece in the cocking tube was discovered to be out of spec, causing issues with the charging handle. A replacement was obtained, making it trouble free.
Derek Giddings, Team HK shooter, was consulted, and he stated that the magazine well on the MKE-manufactured guns has slightly different (bigger) dimensions than that of actual HK models. Hence, MKE magazines are generally more reliable, good news for AP53 users. Additional MKE mags through Century are only $30 apiece; authentic HK mags are $80. Steel HK magazines were used in G&A’s reliability testing, too. While they wiggled in the magazine well, reliability was perfect.
At the Range
While an 8.3-inch-barreled 5.56-chambered firearm is loud, the flash hider worked. Our first range session was indoors, specifically to test this. There was no visible flash with any load. While the MP5 is known for being the softest-recoiling 9mm sub-gun on the market, the same roller-lock system paired with the 5.56mm produces more recoil than a gas-impingement AR.
The heavy trigger pull didn’t help our accuracy test, but with patience and a Leupold Mark 5HD 2-10X, some decent groups left the short-barrel.
This was also the first time G&A experienced the Magpul BTR brace. For $100 extra, the AP53 includes the brace, buffer tube and castle nut, too, which is a solid value. However, of all Magpul products, it was the least impressive. Handgun Editor Jim Tarr called it a “near minimum effort.” If you want a braced AP53, the SBA5 brace from SB Tactical is the preferred choice. It vaguely resembles an HK416 stock, so aesthetically it complements the AP53 and is more functional.
The AP53, objectively, is inferior to an AR-15 of the same size. The safety is hard to reach and stiff to manipulate. The gun weighs more while producing more recoil. The bolt does not lock back on an empty magazine, and the charging handle isn’t quite as easy to work. The trigger pull is both longer and heavier. It’s not as accurate, or all that accurate either. Despite these considerations, the heart wants what the heart wants. It is an iconic design and a piece of firearm history. Until now, it’s been largely unobtainable in the U.S. It is reliable, durable and a battle-proven design that will continue to put smiles on the faces of those who can find one.
Century Arms AP53
- Type: Roller-delayed blowback, semiautomatic
- Cartridge: 5.56 NATO
- Capacity: 30 rds.
- Barrel: 8.3 in., chrome lined, 1:7-in. twist, threaded 1/2×28
- Muzzle device: Flash hider, four prong
- Length: 31 in. (extended), 28 in. (collapsed)
- Weight: 7 lbs., 9 oz.
- Stock: Magpul BTR brace, adjustable
- Grip: Navy-style, polymer
- Sights: Post, hooded (front), three-aperture, 1 notch, windage/elevation adj. (rear)
- Trigger: Single stage, 8 lbs., 12 oz. (tested)
- Safety: Selector lever
- Accessories: Two 30-round magazines, cleaning kit, sling, trigger lock, hard case
- MSRP: $1,899 w/ brace, $1,799 w/o brace
- Manufacturer: MKE, Kirkkale, Ankara, Turkey
- Importer: Century Arms, 561-908-7993, centuryarms.com
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